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Egypt Moves To Reassure Allies
BBC NEWS, MIDDLE EAST
February 12, 2011: Egypt's military authorities have reaffirmed the country's commitment to all its international treaties. The announcement, which was read by a senior officer on state TV, implicitly confirms that the country's peace treaty with Israel will remain intact. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the announcement, saying the treaty was the cornerstone of stability in the Middle East as a whole. The military also vowed to oversee a peaceful transition to civilian rule.
The statement comes as thousands remain in Cairo's Tahrir Square, celebrating President Hosni Mubarak's resignation on Friday after 18 days of protests. "The Arab Republic of Egypt is committed to all regional and international obligations and treaties," the military officer said.
The BBC's Wyre Davis in Cairo says the statement should allay the concerns of the United States and Israel, where politicians are anxious that a change in leadership could jeopardize the 1979 Camp David accords.
Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement: "The longstanding peace treaty between Israel and Egypt has greatly contributed to both countries and is the cornerstone for peace and stability in the entire Middle East."
The military also said it had asked the current government to stay on until a new one was formed, which would "pave the way for an elected civil authority to build a free democratic state". It gave no official timetable for the transition.
The statement also called on the people to co-operate with the police, and for the police to commit to its motto: "At the service of the people." The police force in Egypt was widely perceived as an instrument of repression under Mr Mubarak.
Protesters on Tahrir Square, in the centre of the capital, gave a cautious welcome to the army statement. "It was a good thing," 21-year-old Muhammed Ibrahim told the Associated Press news agency. "We don't want there to be a political void."
Mr. Mubarak, whose resignation was announced by his Vice-President, Omar Suleiman, on Friday afternoon, handed power to the military's high command, a body composed of high-ranking generals and headed by Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.
Shortly before the announcement, Mr. Mubarak left Cairo for the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he has a residence.
Officials from Mr. Mubarak's regime have now been banned from leaving the country.
In a separate development, the regulator of Egypt's stock market said trading would be put off for three more days, opening again on Wednesday. The exchange was closed on 28 January, three days after the protests began.
